Restored
by InkEnigma
Summary: Brokenhearted, Annie believes she has lost it all, but who else could restore her faith in men except Auggie? Centered around Annie/Ben, but hints at Auggie/Annie. Angst.


**Restored**

"Annie!" he called out after her, but it was too late. She was gone. And as she finally pulled away from the parking lot at Langley, the tears began to fall.

She didn't know what to do. What did you do when your heart was broken? When she had come back from Sri Lanka the first time, everything had changed. She had fallen in love yes, but she came back a shattered shell of her former self.

Annie knew what Danielle would say. "Annie, you need to start living your life. Move on." But it wasn't like that. It hadn't been like that last time, and it was no different now. How many times could Ben re-enter her life? As far as Annie knew, a million, and she would still want to forgive him. She still loved him. Wasn't that what love was? Forgiveness.

And then she would think of that note. _It's complicated. _Ben asked for forgiveness. But that didn't change the fact that he was gone. He left her alone. Deserted. Abandoned. But wasn't that how the saying went? If you love someone, let him go. That was bullshit. She had had no choice in the matter. It didn't mean he loved her.

The next two years had changed everything about her. Men took a major backseat. In fact, she didn't really even think of them at all. At least not in a romantic capacity (her dad would always be her hero). Her free spirit wasn't gone, she just channeled it differently. Anger could do a lot for focus. She aced all of her training exercises. She would never feel that way again, she vowed. She blew off steam and rolled with the punches.

And somehow she came out on top.

She had a purpose again. And a best friend that was always there backing her up. He would get her home safe, be her rock. Even with the tough stuff, Auggie was always there for her. He knew as much about Ben as Annie did herself. And he knew enough to know that she was able to conquer it. The memory of Ben didn't own her.

Just as she began to find herself once again, _he_ showed up and tipped the balance. She had forgotten. Almost forgotten... what it was like to love. To live as she had wanted. To be happy. The memories came rushing back. Of she and Ben at the beach, the marketplace, the small hut they had shared. A touch, a kiss, magic zinging between their bodies as they made sweet love.

Everything had it's crucial moment. Annie had her trust restored, only for it to be thrown into the balance as those last gunshots rang out. And that wasn't the end of their ordeal.

Oh, yes, they made it out alive. But once again, the subtle dagger struck her, and Ben slipped into the night once more. This time without so much as a note left behind.

This time she was broken. It felt as if the bonds that kept her anchored to the earth had been severed. Cut with a rusty uneven blade. There were so many questions. So many left unanswered.

"Go home, Annie," Joan stated sternly, as she knew her agent would protest. Sri Lanka had been hell for Annie for the second time, and the Agent needed a good night's sleep at the very least.

Annie raged, but she knew she could not argue. Instead she stormed into Auggie's office.

"Annie!" he said in surprise. He hadn't been expecting her to show up today. Annie took one look at Auggie, and the blind faith (no pun intended) that she had placed with him showed up on his face. She wanted to throw up. She turned and ran. She never wanted to trust anyone ever again.

"Annie!" he called after her, but it was a lost cause. She was gone.

She made it all the way to her bedroom before she really let herself go. In her haste, she had accidentally knocked over a framed picture that sat on the shelf next to her bed. She cried like she never had before. This wasn't the same as when Ben had broken her heart the first time. He had knowingly and purposefully done it again. And that hurt worse. What was left of her faith in men was gone. All her hopes that Ben could do the right thing were shattered, and she was left a mess, crying on the floor.

A knock sounded at her door, and through the haze of crying Annie noticed that it wasn't Danielle on the other side because she would have said something by now. The knocking got louder. Annie forcibly sat up and attempted to mop up her appearance.

She was so out of it that she didn't even check the peephole before opening the door wide. On the other side stood one August Anderson. He knew she would have wanted to be alone, but he would be damned if he let her slip back into that misery.

Annie didn't have anything to say, and when his questioning gaze swept over her appearance, almost as if he could see what a state she was in, all she could respond with was a resigned whimper. He stepped inside the door and enveloped her in a tight hug.

All she could do was cry. She made her way back over to the bed and sat down. Auggie followed no questions asked. He simply held her and let her pour her sorrows out. He never questioned her as he rubbed circles down her back. He was her rock, and though Annie didn't know, Auggie knew that even a broken heart could heal with time.

They fell asleep like that, and when Annie awoke, she noticed the picture that had fallen on the ground earlier had been righted, restored to it's original position on her bedside table. It was Annie and Auggie together in front of the capital building on their very first day of working together. She gazed at his sleeping form beside her, grateful for the friend that she had made on that day, but also for so much more. The fact that he had come all the way to her apartment to make sure she was all right meant more to her than he could ever know. Maybe, just maybe, he would be the one to pull her out of this in one piece. Without even realizing it, August Anderson had restored her faith in men.

A/N: This is a little rough, and quite a bit more angsty than I anticipated. I am open to constructive criticism, so please let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading : )


End file.
